


No Gifts Required

by notjustmom



Series: Valentine's Day 2019 [2]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Post Infinity War, Stephen is a show off, Tony still sucks at gift giving, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 22:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17712752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: Day 2 Prompts:“I was made and meant to look for you and wait for you and become yours forever.” -Robert Browninglove letterpurple





	No Gifts Required

Tony sat at his desk and picked up the newspaper, then groaned as he looked at the date. February 14th. Valentine's Day. He briefly recalled all of the mistakes he had made with Pepper when it came to the 'Hallmark Holidays', the 'bunny from hell' on that one Christmas, the multiple times he had missed her birthday because he was off 'avengering' as she called it, and the time he nearly burned the house down trying to make her dinner - it wasn't his fault he had become distracted - yes, it had been his fault, it was always his fault, and now he was about to blow his first Valentine's Day with Stephen. 

Stephen.

He could still remember the first time the man had winked at him. Not that he could ever forget that day, but after everything that had happened, it was the wink that he remembered the most. It was pure sass, and later, he came to realize, it was pure Stephen. He hadn't been sure what to make of the man who appeared to come from a different century, which one, he wasn't quite sure, and the damn cap- no, the cloak- what was it about that thing? He was still getting used to the idea that Stephen could show up at any time and any place he wanted using the portals, more than once he had been surprised in the shower, not that he minded at all, but still. He was after all, an engineer, a man of science, but Stephen had been a surgeon, and he somehow had chosen to accept the things he could do, so who was he to judge? After all, he himself had seen things in his life, survived things that weren't, shouldn't have been survivable - damn. Focus. Valentine's Day.

Flowers? No.

Chocolate? Stephen did have a sweet tooth, but - no. Not nearly - what did you give someone who was willing to sacrifice half the universe, and himself for you? Sure, things turned out okay in the end, but still, it was the thought that counted, right? No chocolate.

He growled in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair, then felt a presence behind him, and a trembling hand rested on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" He closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah. What, you felt a disturbance in the force?" 

"I'm always aware of how you are feeling."

Tony nodded again then laid his hand lightly over Stephen's. "I know. It's just that it's Valentine's Day. I had lost track of time - ironic, hmm? I had wanted to give you something - and I'm terrible at this kind of thing."

"I don't need anything."

"No, I know. But, I wanted to give you something that would show you -"

His words faded as Stephen spun the chair, and glared lovingly into his eyes. Tony tried to look away, but as always, the green eyes seemed to hypnotize him and all he could do was gaze into them; they were never the same color twice, which wasn't truly possible, it had to be a trick of the light, or - "I know how you feel, Tony. I don't require a trinket to know what's in your heart."

"How?" Tony shrugged, and began to turn away as he knew Stephen would recite some Buddhist-like mantra at him, basically telling him not to question the universe, try to love the questions, but not expect an answer in a form he would understand right away -

"I think, I don't know why or how exactly, we were always connected. We were meant to find each other, I've come to realize it's why we have survived as we have. I know it seems unlikely that the universe would concern itself with the two of us, but I've spent days thinking about it, and it seems to be the only possible explanation."

Tony blinked at him and watched as the green eyes grew darker and brighter at the same time, and he shook his head in wonder, then nodded. "Why not? It makes as much sense as anything else these days. So. No gifts."

"No gifts. Are you going to do the crossword puzzle?" He asked mildly, and Tony shook his head, and handed him the paper.

"I don't know why I bother reading it, it's just the same as it always was - even after -"

"Human nature, Tony. It is one of our strengths as a species, adaptability, the ability to move on. You and I - we are the exceptions, we bear the scars and wounds, we are made to remember so the rest can forget, otherwise nothing will ever change. We can't force the world or the universe to be a safe place, but perhaps one day it will get there, if we can protect it long enough. Tea?"

"Please?"

Stephen leaned down and kissed him softly, then offered him a rare smile and disappeared through the portal again with the newspaper. Tony watched the last of the golden aura vanish, and spun in his chair for a moment, then stopped and pulled out a sheet of paper from a drawer and grabbed a pen, and began to write.

 

S -

I know you said no gifts, and I know you know how I feel, even if I can't always communicate what it is clearly to you, I am certain you understand. The first time I saw you, as inopportune a moment it was, I knew my life would never be the same. You are the best if not the weirdest thing to ever happen to me, and I love you more than you can ever possibly know. I know that's cliche. Trite. Whatever, but there are moments when I'm with you, when I feel like my heart will burst, and believe me, I know what it's like, been there done that - but it doesn't hurt so much this time. You make me feel safe, and treasured and loved, and I never knew what that felt like before. 

I'm not a poet, not much of a writer at all, as you can see. I'm just a man in a can, I fix things, and when it comes down to it, I'm a soldier, a warrior, even though it wasn't something I ever wanted to be, it seems it was what I was meant to be. At one point I believed I could have a normal life, but I know that is no longer possible. No one would want to live with someone who carries the knowledge and nightmares and battle scars that I do. No one, it seems, but you. Thank you for that. Thank you for understanding, and for loving me as well as you do.

\- T

 

He laid the pen down and sighed. It would have to be enough -

"Tea." His favorite purple mug was sitting on his desk, and Stephen was lounging in the chair in front of his desk, finishing up the puzzle. "Puzzle is far too easy today."

"One day they will make a puzzle you can't solve," Tony hummed at him, then blew on his tea and took a sip.

Stephen tossed the paper aside and grinned at him. "I already have one."

"Have one what?" Tony asked quietly, again lost in his eyes.

"You. You are the greatest puzzle I have ever met."

"But -"

"Yes, I can sense how you feel about me, and when you are in pain, or confusion, but I have barely begun to scratch the surface, you have galaxies in you, Tony, and I am just beginning to discover them all."

"Damn."

"What?"

"You. I wrote you this -" He tapped the note he had just written, which seemed so commonplace now, and slid it across the table to Stephen. "In one sentence, you said everything I was trying to say - couldn't say - in I don't even know how many sentences -"

Stephen finished reading the letter and got up from the chair, then moved to stand beside Tony, and reached out for his hand then helped him to his feet. "I know I speak in riddles, and you are never quite sure where you stand with me. I know you believe that I sacrificed the stone for you because it was fated, that I had no choice. I had a choice. In millions of timelines I had choices, this timeline was the only one in which we both survived. I chose you, Tony. Every day, I choose you over everything and everyone else."

"Show off," Tony snorted, then leaned into Stephen's chest and sighed as the cloak wrapped around them both. "Happy Valentine's Day, Stephen."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Tony."


End file.
